Not Even a Single Dalit, Adivasi Heading Indian Mainstream Media: Oxfam Report

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M N Khan

NEW DELHI—According to the second edition of Oxfam India-Newslaundry report, “Who Tells Our Stories Matters: Representation of Marginalized Caste Groups in Indian Media,” upper caste groups hold 90 percent of the leadership positions in print, TV, and digital media, while neither scheduled castes (SC) nor scheduled tribes (ST) are in charge of major media organizations.

Less than 5 percent of the panelists in Hindi and English TV debates, according to a second poll on media diversity conducted after 2019, were from the SC or ST categories. The report, which was released on October 14 at The Media Rumble, South Asia’s largest news media forum, also reveals that marginalized castes (SC, ST, or OBC) only contribute to about one out of every five articles while general caste authors write three out of every five articles in Hindi and English newspapers.

Gautam Lahiri, senior journalist and former President of the Press Club of India (PCI), while sharing his perspective on the domination of the upper castes in the media, said, “It is true mainstream Indian media is hegemonized by the upper castes, and the vast majority of people are only subject to news created by them. The media is important in shaping discourses at the national and international levels. However, it is a legitimate question how will that discourse be more inclusive if there is no one to represent the opinions and voices of the vast majority of the Dalit population? I agree that even after the advent of social media, the organizational structure of mainstream media has not changed.”

“It speaks volumes about our educational system which has an inherent problem for students from the Dalit community to access education. Caste-based discrimination in India’s public schools contributes to significant inequity and often prevents students from maintaining their enrolment. India’s 2009 Right to Education was put in place to ensure that all children received a basic primary education but lacked the structural support necessary to track each student, causing those who are most marginalized to fall through the cracks. Overcoming those obstacles, whoever gets access to education and aspires to be a journalist don’t get proper recognition in the newsroom. It is a hard reality,” said the Ex-president of PCI.

“There is a silver lining to this issue. Some senior journalists from the upper caste try to change the narrative of journalism by reporting social discrimination and atrocities against the Dalit community. But they are horribly in the minority. Sometimes reporting an incident of Dalit atrocities finds space in the mainstream media. Still, it never follows up to the logical conclusion of the case, there is no follow-up on the judicial trial, and ultimately, it does not get the proper attention of the readers after some time,” said Lahiri.

Senior journalist and noted social and human rights activist John Dayal while responding to the report, said, “If the researchers of Oxfam and News Laundry had included the owners, major stockholders in media corporations and other linkages with politics and governance, the control of the upper castes in the entire process of news gathering, editing it and presenting it in a newspaper, TV or online platform, would perhaps be closer to 99 percent. In addition, the pressures and pulls of media marketing, with its targeting upwardly mobile or aspirational readership, and its need to tap into the marketing of political as well as consumer advertising adds to the pressure to keep the product – the media — focused on those within the circle, keeping the needs and concerns of Dalits, Adivasis, out of consideration.”

“It also needs to be remembered that control comes not just in choosing what is to be part of the media content, but perhaps even more so in ensuring that certain things must be kept out unless absolutely necessary. Editing implies exclusion, cutting away. What the camera refuses to see can be far more important than what it focuses on. This is as much true of the camera’s forced love for the prime minister as it is that visual journalists seldom cover the rape of a Dalit girl and the pain and anger of her parents.”

The Oxfam survey is essential, but it proves that over half a century, nothing has changed in terms of increased media sensitivity to the issues of the marginalised. Oxfam found that employees from the general category occupy 90% of top jobs in print, television and digital media.

Less than 45 was from the SC, OBC and others, and very few tribals,” said Dayal.

“It is impressive they looked at almost 200 articles from print media, as many as 2,075 prime-time debates with 76 anchors and 3,318 panellists, and 12 months of online news reports between April 2021 and March 2022. Decades ago, my senior colleague and friend for half a century, Bhawa Nand Uniyal, who had held important positions in mainline media, which he joined almost sixty years ago, had first exposed the upper caste moorings of the media news managers, from correspondents to editors,” he said.

He added, “Uniyal wrote” I realized that in all the 30 years I had then worked as a journalist, I had never met a fellow journalist who was a Dalit; no, not one. And, worse still, was the thought that during all these years, it had never occurred to me that there was something so seriously amiss in the profession, something which I should have noticed as a journalist. In all these years, I have travelled through almost every country district in the company of numerous journalists and met hundreds of others in different cities and towns. Yet I did not remember having met any Dalit journalist.”

“Uniyal analyzed the government’s Press Information Bureau’s list of accredited correspondents. The Accreditation Index was revealing. Of the 686 accredited correspondents listed in it, as many as 454 bore their caste surnames and, of them, as many as 240 turned out to be Brahmins, 79 Punjabi Khatris, 44 Kayasthas, 26 Muslims with as many Baniyas, 19 Christians, 12 Jains and nine (Bengali) Baidyas. “I randomly checked out 47 of the remaining 232 correspondents’ caste affiliations. None of them turned out to be a Dalit either”, Uniyal wrote.

“No one wants to analyze the management and ownership of media companies. Most of them belong to what is called the business classes and business-oriented castes. Some Muslim families and Christian rubber and coffee magnates may also own newspapers, but a Dalit owns no major media company. Not even Now. And finally, the lack of a presence in media management translates into an absence from political processes. This becomes a vicious cycle, almost impossible to break, argued Dayal.

Reacting to the survey, Aditya Menon, political editor of the popular news website The Quint, said, “It is an unfortunate reality that our newsrooms are extremely non-representative spaces in terms of caste. There are very few people from a Dalit-Bahujan-Adivasi background in senior editorial positions.”

Mr. Menon pointed out that “the lack of representation is also evident in terms of news coverage with caste violence and discrimination often going unnoticed by the media. And at times, caste atrocities are presented as clashes between two sides.”

“There is also no debate on the caste discrimination that journalists from an oppressed background face in the newsroom,” the senior journalist remarked.

“While slightly more progressive newsrooms have started emphasizing gender diversity in hiring, there is almost no focus on the increasing presence of people from DBA backgrounds,” Mr. Menon observed.

Amitabh Behar, CEO, of Oxfam India, said, “Our second report in three years continues to show that newsrooms in India are not an inclusive place for marginalized communities in the country. The leaders of media organizations across all platforms continue to fail to create an enabling environment for Dalits, Adivasis and Bahujans. The media in the country needs to uphold the constitutional principle of equality in not just its coverage but also in its hiring practices. It is critical that media organizations immediately conduct a significant overhaul of hiring practices and ensure that newsrooms across the country become more diverse and inclusive. This would be crucial for creating India without discrimination and injustice.

The report studied around 43 Indian print, TV and digital media outlets for their coverage, social location of the leadership and caste composition of journalists employed by the organizations. The research, which was conducted between April 2021 and March 2022, analyzed over 20,000 magazine and newspaper articles, 2075 prime-time debates with 76 anchors and 3318 panellists and 12 months of online news reports.

The research was conducted on qualitative parameters such as the social location of authors/participants, prominence of the news item, and topic of news coverage. The report also examined the representation of various caste groups among the staff of news organizations using surveys, secondary sources of information, and databases of UPSC and central universities.

The findings reflect marginal improvement in the overall representation of SC, ST, and OBCs in the Indian media. The 12-month research shows the dominance of general caste groups across print, digital and electronic media in terms of leadership, by-lines, opinion writing, and content. The earlier edition of the report in 2019 showed over 88% representation of journalists from the general category, and this year, it is around 86%. At the same time, the most significant change can be seen in the SC category representation, which has gained voice by 3.17% in 2022, up from none in 2019.

The analysis of 14 Hindi and English newspapers showed the organizations failed to employ SC/ST journalists to cover caste and tribal issues. Moreover, over half of the anchors from 8 news channels analyzed for the study belong to upper-caste groups. In contrast, no channel had Dalit or Adivasi community anchors to host the debate.

None of the 12 magazines analyzed during the survey had members from the SC/ST community in leadership position. The digital media platforms considered for the research period showed comparatively more remarkable improvement in the representation of SC and STs than print and electronic media. The SC and ST category representation in digital media has increased by 11% and around 3%, respectively, from earlier zero. While the OBC category has seen little increase, the General category representation is still about 77 percent.

Abhinandan Sekhri, CEO, of Newslaundry, said, “The report captures the state of diversity in Indian newsrooms. Acknowledging the problem and diagnosing the fix is always the first step of any change. Hope editors and media owners can use its findings to make newsrooms more inclusive.”

The report has recommended greater sensitization of media organizations on caste, transparent recruitment practices, and implementation of equal and fair wages.

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